Survey says 62% of Canadian plan to seek out Boxing Day bargains

The Canadian Press

TORONTO - A new survey from the Bank of Montreal suggests 62 per cent of Canadians plan to shop on Boxing Day.

One-in-five, or 22 per cent, said they plan to shop for themselves, while 34 per cent said they will buy items for both themselves and others.

The bank says Alberta will see the most spending activity today, with 76 per cent of respondents saying they plan to buy Boxing Day bargains. Atlantic Canada is next at 72 per cent, followed by Ontario at 69 per cent.

Quebec is expected to see the lightest Boxing Day shopping, with just 36 per cent of respondents to the bank survey saying they plan to shop today.

The survey also found that men are more likely than woman to take advantage of Boxing Day sales at a rate of 66 per cent versus 58 per cent.

Overall, says the bank, Canadians plan to spend an average of $1,610 on the holidays this year while retailers rake in almost $60 billion.

The survey of 1,000 Canadians was conducted between Oct. 11 and 16.

The results are considered accurate plus or minus 3.1 per cent, 19 times out of 20.